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Florida Readies As Cold Rolls In

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By JESSICA GRESKO, The Associated Press

Published: January 2, 2008

Updated: 01/02/2008 12:11 pm

MIAMI - Farmers rushed to protect their crops and South Florida sunbathers got in a last tan on New Year's Day as Florida braced for plunging temperatures and the coldest weather of the winter so far.

Temperatures were expected to drop below freezing in parts of the state on Tuesday night and early today, hitting the lower to middle 20s for a few hours in many areas. The coldest temperatures, however, were forecast for tonight and Thursday morning, when wind chill temperatures were expected to dive into the teens in places.

With temperatures cold enough to kill agricultural crops expected, Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency late Monday and relaxed restrictions in getting harvested crops moved to processing centers.
Weather officials said the cause of the chill was a mass of air from the Arctic moving in from the north.

"What's going on is the orientation of the jet stream has changed. We've got winds basically blowing down from Canada. It's plunging down from Canada and the Midwest," State Meteorologist Ben Nelson of the Florida Division of Emergency Management said.

Nelson, who was in Tallahassee, said the weather was about 60 degrees Tuesday afternoon, but the wind had picked up.

"That's a sign of things to come," he said.

Nelson said one of the biggest concerns was the potential for freezes around the Lake Okeechobee agricultural area and that the crucial time for agriculture would be after midnight tonight into Thursday morning. He also stressed that people using space heaters should keep flammable objects away from them and that it was a good time to check on people who are elderly and may be living alone.

Many of the state's 40,000 commercial farmers were making preparations ahead of the temperature drop. One farmer told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he was readying helicopters to fly over his fields if the temperature drops below freezing. Helicopters can keep the air moving and prevent frost from forming. Other farmers were contemplating turning on irrigation systems, which also can ward off frost, and some were harvesting crops early.

An executive order from the governor relaxed the weight, height, length and width restrictions for commercial vehicles transporting vulnerable crops to processing sites. The order will remain in effect for a week but could be extended.

Farmers weren't the only ones looking ahead to cold temperatures, however. Some fishermen were not going out because of expected high winds. Dive shop operators, too, were looking at potential high winds later in the week and the possibility they could create choppy seas and stir up sand, which affects visibility. Homeless shelters in parts of the state were preparing for an influx of people.

Nanette McPhee, a case manager at the Turning Point shelter in St. Petersburg, said normally the shelter gets about 90 people a night but on cold nights they could take in up to 120, housing people in a dining area if necessary.

"We're making room," she said.

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